Seedy Njie said his questioning was politically motivated

Seedy
Njie, the spokesman for The Gambia’s former governing Alliance for Patriotic
Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party has told The Point that his
questioning on Friday was politically motivated.

Njie,
who doubles as the APRC press secretary and also a former nominated National
Assembly Member (NAM) was picked-up by some plain clothes officers of the State House
Intelligent Unit.

The
APRC spokesman added that he was questioned for hours over comments he made
about the arrest and continuous detention without charge of one of his party’s
supporters, Landing Manneh.

Mr.
Njie said: “I woke up this morning Friday 19 January 2018 after 7 a.m. saw four
plainclothes men – one of them, a driver standing close to my vehicle waiting
to arrest me.

The
officers rushed to me and claimed to be police officers informing me and said
they were police officers acting on directive from the Office of the President
to get me. One of them, he said, later said that his name was Lamin Darboe.
They further told me that “we are taking you to Police Headquarters in Banjul.”
“I asked them to go and will join them but they insisted taking me then I
decided to get back to my house to change my dress.”

The
officers, he went on, whisked him away in a double cabin pick-up to State House
NIA office where Muhammed Kanteh, the director of Intelligence Office of
President was waiting with other officers.

“The
reason why you are brought here is in connection with your recent call for the
release of your supporter Landing Manneh and you (Seedy) also said that what
the country need is national reconciliation and unity not violence these words
should not come from you as a political leader,” he stated.

“Landing
is arrested by the security, how can you say that he should be released? The
interrogation, he said, lasted for about two hours or more and was asked to
report back on Monday to the same office. “I told the team that I will continue
to call for his release and any other detainees.”